Company creation: determine the nature of your company's activity
Verified 01 January 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Before you build your company, you must define the nature of your business. Your activity may be commercial, handcrafted, liberal or agricultural. We'll tell you how to distinguish them and if you can accumulate activities of different kinds.
What applies to you ?
Attention: beforehand, you must have choose legal form your future company (micro-company individual business business,
Micro-company
All activities are permitted (commercial, artisanal, liberal) except agricultural activity.
The cumulation activities are possible under certain conditions.
Characteristics of the commercial activity
Your activity is commercial if you are in one of the following cases:
- You buy of assets or merchandise for resell in a profit-making
- You sell of services in the fields of hotels, catering, transport, entertainment, security, IT, design, etc.
- You have a leasing goods or services
Please note
The goods you sell or rent must be movable property.
Do you need a diploma?
No, no, no. You have no you don't need to bring know-how specific, or a diploma to practice a commercial activity.
Is the micro-company suitable for trade?
The micro-company is suitable for commercial activity, especially if you get started.
Warning
You must remain below a turnover threshold to benefit from the micro-company scheme, depending on the type of activity:
- Provision of services or liberal activities: €77,700
- Trade and supply of housing: €188,700
Authorized and excluded businesses
- Allowed: fast food, food truck, delivery driver, developer, designer, decorator, graphic designer, DJ: titleContent (wedding, events, etc.), photographer (wedding, companies, shows, industrial, etc.), distributor and broadcaster of musicians, etc.
- Excluded: real estate agent, hairdresser, optician, eyewear, pharmacist, topographer, tobacco office
Who is the point of contact for your efforts?
You will make your 1re gait of creation also known as theregistration of your company to the Company Formalities Window. This registration registers you in the Trade and businesses Directory (RCS) and on the RNE: titleContent .
As a trader, your interlocutor is the chamber of commerce and industry from your region. The advisers of the CCI: titleContent are here for you accompany and you advisor in your efforts. You can call or contact them by mail :
Please note
As a trader micro-entrepreneur, you can contact the advisers to the Urssaf especially in charge of your situation :
Who shall I contact
Characteristics of the craft industry
To be a craftsman, you have to respond to 3 criteria following:
- Your activity must be part of the official list of craft trades or the official list of crafts
- Your company must have fewer than 11 employees when it is created
- You must have a specific expertise and prove it by a diploma (CAP, BEP, etc.) or a professional qualification
- The activity of nature industrial corresponds to a craft activity that has developed significantly.
- Artistic activity does not fall within the scope of the company. Artists are not entrepreneurs, nor are they traders, even if they sell their works. Their activity meets specific criteria. Only the craftsmen are entrepreneurs.
Warning
he is important refer to the official list of craft trades to find out whether you are a member or not.
Examples of craft activities : taxi and VTC, hairdresser, beautician, dog groomer, food service (cheese maker, chocolate maker, pastry maker, ice cream maker, etc.), manual technical trades (plumber, glazier, chimney sweeper, dental technician, agricultural equipment repairman, bicycle repairman, shoemaker, mover), ambulance driver, automotive technical controller.
Is the micro-company suitable for crafts?
The craftsman being often alone in its activity, the micro-company is suitable for this activity, especially if you get started.
Warning
You have to stay under a annual turnover threshold to benefit from the micro-company scheme.
Who is the point of contact for your efforts?
You will make your 1re gait of creation also known as theregistration of your company to the Company Formalities Window.
This registration registers you on the RNE: titleContent .
As a craftsman, your interlocutor is here chamber of trades and crafts from your region. The advisers of the CMA: titleContent are here for you accompany and you advisor in your efforts.
You can call or contact them by mail :
Who shall I contact
Please note
As a craftsman micro-entrepreneur, you can contact the advisers to the Urssaf especially in charge of your situation :
Who shall I contact
Characteristics of liberal activity
A liberal activity consists mainly in the provision of services of a intellectual.
You're making a fee-paying service.
You must have a diploma or a professional qualification in the field.
Is the micro-company suitable for liberal activity?
The micro-company is suitable for an activity unregulated liberal.
You can consult the directory of regulated professions or the search tool made available by BPI Creation.
There is no list of unregulated liberal activities. They are few.
Authorized or excluded liberal activities for the micro-entrepreneur:
- Allowed: consultant, trades informatics and the digital, trades of advice, of the investigation (detective), coach professional, public writer, trainer, translator, naturopath, etc.
- Excluded: regulated liberal activities. There are many of them. You can consult the list of regulated professions.
The micro-company is mainly for the entrepreneur who beginning.
Indeed, the micro-entrepreneur must remain under a annual threshold of CA to benefit from this scheme.
Who is the point of contact for your efforts?
You will make your 1re gait of creation also known as theregistration of your company to the Company Formalities Window.
This registration registers you on the RNE: titleContent .
As a professional, your interlocutor is theUrssaf. Urssaf's advisors are here for you accompany and you advisor in your efforts. You can call or contact them by mail :
Who shall I contact
Please note
As a Liberal micro-entrepreneur, you can contact the advisers to the Urssaf especially in charge of your situation:
Who shall I contact
It's the agricultural activity and the artist-author activity.
Agricultural activity
Agricultural activity is not permitted for micro-company.
How do you know if your business is agricultural?
An activity is agricultural if it depends on the life cycle of a plant or animal in the context of a holding or production.
Individual business This criterion is decisive and applies regardless of the legal form of your holding (agricultural group, business).
It can also be an activity that prolongs agricultural production activity.
Thus, the following activities are considered to be agricultural:
- Activities of "farm tourism" (gîtes, bed and breakfasts, tables d'hôtes, farms inns, etc.) supporting the agricultural holding
- Activities for the preparation and training of domestic horses and ponies for their exploitation: races, competitions, courses, etc.
- Production and marketing of biogas, electricity and heat through methanization, where the majority (more than )50 of the products are derived from agricultural holdings
- Processing and direct sale of farm products (cheese, butter, jam, ice cream, meat, etc.)
Please note
the pension of horses or their exploitation for shows are not agricultural activities. They're commercial activities.
Who is the contact person for an agricultural activity?
The chamber of agriculture of your department and the Mutual Social Agricultural Organization (MSA) are your main contacts:
Artist-author
If you're an artist or an author, it's a special status. He answers questions precise criteria.
How do you know if your activity is artistic?
You are an artist-author if you are a creator of original artistic works.
Your business and your income must meet specific criteria.
As an artist-author, you enter the field of company (microphone or IS: titleContent) only if your ancillary income is very important.
The Urssaf-Limousin and the Social Security of Artists-Authors are your main interlocutors:
Who shall I contact
By email
https://www.artistes-auteurs.urssaf.fr/aa/accueil
By mail
Urssaf Limousin
Artists and Authors - TSA 70009
93517 MONTREUIL CEDEX
By telephone
Monday to Friday: 9am to 5pm
0 806 804 208 (price of a local call)
By E-mail
http://www.secu-artistes-auteurs.fr/contact
By mail
60 rue du Faubourg Poissonnière
75010 Paris
Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement
You do different things in your micro-company
You have the right accumulate different types of activities in your micro-company.
We are also talking aboutmixed activity.
Example :
- You are an artisan potter and you sell your creations: you are therefore both artisan (art) and merchant.
- You sell bicycles and decide to open a repair shop: you are first a trader and you also become a craftsman (repairman).
Regardless of the number of activities carried out, the AC threshold not to be exceeded remains the same as with a single activity.
If you go over it, you get out of the micro-company diet.
You must define what is your main activity and what is your secondary activity.
Example :
- In the example of the potter who sells his creations, his main activity is craft (art) and his secondary activity is commercial.
- In the case of the bicycle seller, his main activity is primarily commercial, his craft activity as a repairman is secondary.
You're a self-employed person and you have another activity going on in parallel
You have the right to combine self-employment status with other statuses.
This may be employees, retirees, students, civil servants, etc.
You have to do that meet certain conditions.
Sole trader
Your activity as the individual entrepreneur (EI) may be commercial, artisanal, liberal or agricultural.
The cumulation activities are possible according to certain modalities.
Characteristics of the commercial activity
Your activity is commercial if you are in one of the following cases:
- You buy of assets or merchandise for resell in a profit-making
- You sell of services in the fields of hotels, catering, transport, entertainment, security, IT, design, etc.
- You have a leasing goods or services
Please note
The goods you sell or rent must be movable property.
Do you need a diploma?
No, no, no. You have no you don't need to bring know-how specific, or a diploma to practice a commercial activity.
Is ISIS’s status appropriate for trade?
Yes, the EI status is adapted to the business activity.
All commercial activities are allowed in IS: titleContent : commercial store (shoes, computer, grocer, florist, etc.), garage, restaurant, bar, fast food, food truck, decorator, graphic designer, DJ: titleContent (wedding, events, etc.), photographer (wedding, companies, shows, industrial, etc.), distributor and broadcaster of musicians, etc.
Who is the point of contact for your efforts?
You will make your 1re gait of creation also known as theregistration of your company to the Company Formalities Window. This registration registers you on the Commercial and business Register (RCS) and on the RNE: titleContent .
As a trader, your interlocutor is the chamber of commerce and industry from your region. The advisers of the CCI: titleContent are here for you accompany and you advisor in your efforts. You can call or contact them by mail :
Characteristics of the craft industry
To be a craftsman, you have to respond to 3criteria following:
- Your activity must be part of the official list of craft trades or the official list of crafts
- Your company must have fewer than 11 employees when it is created
- You must have a specific expertise and prove it by a diploma (CAP, BEP, etc.) or a professional qualification
- The industrial activity corresponds to a craft activity which has developed significantly.
- The artistic activity of the artist-authors meets specific criteria. Only the craftsmen have an activity of an artisanal nature.
Warning
He is important refer to the official list of craft trades to find out whether you are a member or not.
Examples of craft activities : taxi and VTC, hairdresser, beautician, food service (cheese maker, chocolate maker, pastry maker, ice cream maker, etc.), manual technical trades (plumber, glazier, chimney sweeper, dental technician, agricultural equipment repairman, bicycle repairman, shoemaker, mover), ambulance driver, car technical controller.
Example :
A butcher butcher butcher who employs more than 10 employees is considered a trader despite his craft activity.
Is ISIS's status suitable for crafts?
Yes, ISIS’s status is suited to an artisanal activity.
Who is the point of contact for your efforts?
You will make your 1re gait of creation also known as theregistration of your company to the Company Formalities Window.
This registration registers you on the RNE: titleContent .
As a craftsman, your interlocutor is here chamber of trades and crafts from your region. The advisers of the CMA: titleContent are here for you accompany and you advisor in your efforts.
You can call or contact them by mail :
Who shall I contact
Characteristics of liberal activity
A liberal activity consists mainly in the provision of services of a intellectual.
You're making a fee-paying service.
You must have a diploma or a professional qualification in the field.
Is ISIS’s status suited to liberal activity?
Yes, the EI status is suitable for an activity regulated or unregulated liberal.
You can consult the list of regulated professions. They are numerous.
They depend on an order (order of doctors, architects, notaries, accountants, etc.). They must respect a ethics by trade.
There is no list of unregulated liberal activities. They are few.
You can consult the search tool made available by BPI Creation:
Search for regulated activities or professions
Who is the point of contact for your efforts?
You will make your 1re gait of creation also known as theregistration of your company to the Company Formalities Window.
This registration registers you on the RNE: titleContent .
As a professional, your interlocutor is theUrssaf. Urssaf's advisors are here for you accompany and you advisor in your efforts. You can call or contact them by mail :
Who shall I contact
Depending on your profession, you also need to register with the Order or the consular chamber on which you depend.
Characteristics of agricultural activity
An activity is agricultural if it depends on the life cycle of a plant or animal in the context of a holding or production.
Individual business This criterion is decisive and applies regardless of the legal form of your holding (agricultural group, business).
It can also be an activity that prolongs agricultural production activity. Thus, the following activities are considered to be agricultural:
- Activities of "farm tourism" (gîtes, bed and breakfasts, tables d'hôtes, farms inns, etc.) supporting the agricultural holding
- Activities for the preparation and training of domestic horses and ponies for their exploitation: races, competitions, courses, etc.
- Production and marketing of biogas, electricity and heat through methanization, where the majority of production is from biogas, electricity and heat (more than 50%(b) materials from agricultural holdings
- Processing and direct sale of farm products (cheese, butter, jam, ice cream, meat, etc.)
Please note
the pension of horses or their exploitation for shows are not agricultural activities. They're commercial activities.
Is the EI status appropriate for agricultural activity?
Yes, the EI status is adapted to agricultural activity.
Who is the point of contact for your efforts?
The chamber of agriculture explains steps to starting or taking over an agricultural company.
She's explaining it to you, too what status to choose as an operator.
All activities are allowed in the form of ISIS: commercial, artisanal, liberal or agricultural.
Warning
If you're an artist or an author, it's a special status. He answers questions precise criteria.
Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement
You perform different activities in your company (EI)
You have the right individual business to accumulate different types of activities within your
We are also talking aboutmixed activity.
Example :
- You are an artisan potter and you sell your creations: you are therefore both artisan (art) and merchant.
- You sell bicycles and decide to open a repair shop: you are first a trader and you also become a craftsman (repairman).
You need to define what is your main activity and what is your secondary activity.
Example :
- In the example of the potter who sells his creations, his main activity is craft (art) and his secondary activity is commercial.
- In the case of the bicycle seller, his main activity is primarily commercial, his craft activity as a repairman is secondary.
You are an individual entrepreneur and you have another activity in parallel
You have the right to combine your status as an individual entrepreneur with another activity. This may be for example an activity as an employee or a public official.
To do this, you must follow certain rules in your employment contract. It's mostly about non-compete clause and loyalty to your employer.
As an employee, you need to know what the independent activities that you have the right to pursue in parallel.
You can accumulate your liberal entrepreneurship with employee status.
You can also accumulate your status of contractor with that of civil servant or public official.
Business
Your business can be commercial, artisanal, liberal or agricultural.
The cumulation activities are possible according to certain modalities.
Characteristics of the commercial activity
Your activity is commercial if you are in one of the following cases:
- You buy of assets or merchandise for resell in a profit-making
- You sell of services in the fields of hotels, catering, transport, entertainment, security, IT, design, etc.
- You have a leasing goods or services
Please note
The goods you sell or rent must be movable property.
Do you need a diploma?
No, no, no. You have no you don't need to bring know-how specific, or a diploma to practice a commercial activity.
Is the business suitable for trade?
Yes, the shape of the business is adapted to the commercial activity.
Authorized businesses
All commercial activities are allowed in business: commercial shop (shoes, computer, grocer, florist, etc.), garage, restaurant, bar, fast food, food truck, decorator, graphic designer, DJ: titleContent (wedding, events, etc.), photographer (wedding, companies, shows, industrial, etc.), distributor and broadcaster of musicians, etc.
Who is the point of contact for your efforts?
You will make your 1re gait of creation also known as theregistration of your company to the Single window for company formalities. This registration registers you in the Trade and businesses Directory (RCS) and on the RNE: titleContent .
As a trader, your interlocutor is the Chamber of Commerce and Industry from your region. The advisers of the CCI: titleContent are here for you accompany and you advisor in your efforts. You can call or contact them by mail :
Characteristics of the craft industry
To be a craftsman, you have to answer the 3 criteria following:
- Your activity must be part of the official list of craft trades or the official list of crafts
- Your company must have fewer than 11 employees when it is created
- You must have a specific expertise and prove it by a diploma (CAP, BEP, etc.) or a professional qualification
Warning
he is important refer to the official list of craft trades to find out whether you are a member or not.
- The activity of nature industrial corresponds to a craft activity that has developed significantly.
- Artistic activity does not fall within the scope of the company. Artists are not entrepreneurs, nor are they traders, even if they sell their works. Their activity meets specific criteria. Only the craftsmen are entrepreneurs.
Examples of craft activities : taxi and VTC, hairdresser, food service (cheese maker, chocolatier, pastry maker, ice cream maker, etc.), manual technical services (plumber, glazier, chimney sweeper, dental technician, etc.), agricultural equipment repairman, bicycle repairman, shoemaker.
A butcher butcher butcher who employs more than 10 employees, is considered a trader despite his craft activity.
Is the business suitable for crafts?
Yes, the shape of the business is adapted to a craft activity.
Who is the point of contact for your efforts?
You will make your 1re gait of creation also known as theregistration of your company to the Company Formalities Window.
This registration registers you on the RNE: titleContent .
As a craftsman, your interlocutor is here chamber of trades and crafts from your region. The advisers of the CMA: titleContent are here for you accompany and you advisor in your efforts.
You can call or contact them by mail :
Who shall I contact
Characteristics of liberal activity
A liberal activity consists mainly in the provision of services of a intellectual.
You're making a fee-paying service.
You must have a diploma or a professional qualification in the field.
Is the business appropriate for liberal activity?
The business may be adapted for an activity regulated or unregulated liberal.
You can consult the list of regulated professions. They are numerous.
They depend on an order (order of doctors, architects, notaries, accountants, etc.). They must respect a ethics by trade.
There is no list of unregulated liberal activities. They are few.
You can consult the search tool made available by BPI Creation:
Search for regulated activities or professions
Who is the point of contact for your efforts?
You will make your 1re gait of creation also known as theregistration of your company to the Company Formalities Window.
This registration registers you on the RNE: titleContent .
As a professional, your interlocutor is the Urssaf. Urssaf's advisors are here for you accompany and you advisor in your efforts. You can call or contact them by mail :
Who shall I contact
Depending on your profession, you also need to register with the Order or the consular chamber on which you depend.
Characteristics of agricultural activity
An activity is agricultural if it depends on the life cycle of a plant or animal in the context of a holding or production.
Individual business This criterion is decisive and applies regardless of the legal form of your holding (agricultural group, business).
It can also be an activity that prolongs agricultural production activity. Thus, the following activities are considered to be agricultural:
- Activities of "farm tourism" (gîtes, bed and breakfasts, tables d'hôtes, farms inns, etc.) supporting the agricultural holding
- Activities for the preparation and training of domestic horses and ponies for their exploitation: races, competitions, courses, etc.
- Production and marketing of biogas, electricity and heat through methanization, where the majority (more than 50 %) of the material is derived from agricultural holdings
- Processing and direct sale of farm products (cheese, butter, jam, ice cream, meat, etc.)
Please note
The pension of horses or their exploitation for shows are not agricultural activities. They're commercial activities.
Is the business suitable for farming?
Yes, business is a suitable form of agricultural activity.
Who is the point of contact for your efforts?
The Chamber of Agriculture explains the steps to to set up or take over an agricultural company.
She's explaining it to you, too what status to choose as an operator.
All activities are allowed as a business: commercial, artisanal, liberal or agricultural.
Warning
If you're an artist or an author, it's a special status. He answers questions precise criteria.
You do different things in your business
You have the right to accumulate different types of activities in your business.
We are also talking aboutmixed activity.
Example :
- You are an artisan potter and you sell your creations: you are therefore both artisan (art) and merchant.
- You sell bicycles and decide to open a repair shop: you are first a trader and you also become a craftsman (repairman).
You need to define what is your main activity and what is your secondary activity.
Example :
- In the example of the potter who sells his creations, his main activity is craft (art) and his secondary activity is commercial.
- In the case of the bicycle seller, his main activity is primarily commercial, his craft activity as a repairman is secondary.
You're a business entrepreneur and you have another side business
You have the right to combine your status as a business contractor with another activity. This may be for example an activity as an employee or a public official.
To do this, you must follow certain rules in your employment contract. It's mostly about non-compete clause and loyalty to your employer.
As an employee, you need to know what are the independent activities that you are entitled to carry out in parallel?
You can accumulate your liberal entrepreneurship with employee status.
You can also accumulate your status of contractor with that of civil servant or public official.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
Definition of commercial acts
Annex: List of craft activities
Online service
Search tools
FAQ
Chambers of crafts and crafts (CMA)
Institut pour les Savoir-Faire Français (ISFF)
Bpifrance Creation
Bpifrance Creation
Chambers of Agriculture
Chambers of Agriculture
